The memorial for the fallen was held the following day.

It went well.

No announcement or proclamation about heroes was made to the relief of everyone who'd been a part of that fight.

But after the memorial, Agnis did announce the creation of the Guard and Joe's appointment as its captain, as well as the rule forcing people to disclose their class information.

Despite the gravity of the announcement, and the requirement for everyone to train for and participate in the new Guard, people seemed to react positively to it. Everyone felt somewhat reassured that the council was taking action to prevent more attacks.

Joe refusing to tell Agnis his last name did provide a little levity to the situation.

"...And so it is an honor to present Captain Joe--I'm sorry what is your last name?"

"Just Joe is fine." Joe answered plainly.

"Well, people can hardly go around referring to you as Captain Joe," Agnis protested.

"Hell, I don't see why not. You had no problem pronouncing it just now, and I bet most of the people here can manage it without the hint of disdain you had," Joe responded casually.

A ripple of laughter went through the crowd.

"Well, I think it is highly inappropriate for people to call you Captain Joe all the time," Agnis argued.

"I totally agree." Joe waved at the crowd. "Hey, everyone, you can all just call me Joe. I'll also accept bro, homie, man, dude, and hobro. That last one is a new one for me, but I'm digging it.

I'll even tolerate asshole, bastard, cocksucker, or any more creative insults you can think up... if I deserve it." Joe paused to let the chuckles die down, his face taking on a far more serious demeanor.

"That being said, I will take my post and duty seriously. So save 'Captain,' 'Captain Joe,' or 'sir' for when I'm lining you out in training or on duty. Basically, if I'm yelling at you, now you know what to yell back."

Joe turned back to Agnis. "But to ease your concerns, I will be putting my last name into the official Class records. The ones only I currently have access to."

Agnis nodded but didn't answer. And Joe got an actual round of applause.

----

Once the entire affair was over, Levi found Joe next to Iara.

"Captain Joe! Just the man I was looking for. You ready to see what's inside the portal."

Iara belted out a laugh at Levi's words.

Joe pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jesus Christ, not you, too. I swear I think I made it worse," Joe said to Iara, who was still laughing.

Before Levi could ask for clarification, someone approached Joe, offering a hand to shake, which Joe took. It was a younger woman, around her mid twenties. As she spoke, her free hand lightly touched Joe's forearm.

"Captain Joe, we're so happy you took up the position. Knowing what you did that night, that you're willing stand up for us when it counts... it makes us all feel safer that they put you in charge.

I'm going to be honest, acting as part of the guard is scary. But, I can't wait to work underneath you. I know I'll be in capable hands."

As the woman walked off, Iara glared daggers at her. After a moment, she turned to Joe, lightly smacking him in the arm. "Perhaps you should use some of that authority to put your foot down about sexual harassment, huh?"

"What? Who's being harrassed?" Joe asked in an oblivious tone while looking around as if searching for a culprit. Catching Levi's eye, Joe gave him a sly wink.

That's when Iara smacked him in the arm even harder.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Paige had picked up on the conversation, with her Enhanced Hearing, and decided to help the situation along the only way she knew how. Walking up, she caught Iara's attention. "Better watch out for that one, Iara. I can still smell the pheromones from here."

It did not, in fact, help the situation. But it was funny.

----

"I'm filing domestic violence charges," Joe said as they approached the portal.

"You're the captain. Who are you going to file them with, yourself?" Levi asked.

Joe gave an exaggerated sigh. "I know, I know. All the charges will be dropped anyway. Tragic. The victims of domestic violence always forgive their abusers. So sad."

Maddy chimed in then. "You know, Joe, jokes about domestic violence are tasteless. That being said... you instigated a lot of it. The only tragedy is that she only hit you in the arm after what you said."

"Oooh. What did he say?" David said, grin on his face. He'd missed out on the conversation.

"He said, and I quote, 'It isn't my fault that when the ladies hear the rank captain, all they can think is all hands on deck.'" Paige explained.

"Oooh. You didn't.... Captain Hobro... my dude, homie... What a cocksucking asshole," David commented.

Joe smiled. "Can't wait until I get back. The make-up sex is going to be phenomenal."

"Well, I think that's enough of this conversation," Levi interrupted. "I can see the portal anyway."

Ahead of them, the portal shimmered through the trees and underbrush, hovering above the ground.

"It looks like it moved." Maddy commented.

"What do you mean moved?" Levi asked.

"I mean, it used to be about 50 yards in that direction." Maddy pointed. "Now it's here."

Levi shrugged. "Weird. How many days has it been since you found it? About five? Six? So it's moving at about 10 yards per day. I wonder why. It shouldn't affect us much, though."

They circled around the portal and peered in. It showed grasslands with a mountain range in the distance, depending on which direction you looked into it from. The grass looked to by approximately waist high and yellowing.

Still, it looked like more of a snapshot than a moving picture. It moved, but there didn't seem to be any real change. The sun was high in the sky in the portal, though it was near setting in their own world.

"So all jumping in at the same time?" Joe said.

"All jumping in at the same time," Levi confirmed.

"Wait," David interjected. "What if we can't get out? What if we're trapped or something?"

"Then we're trapped together. Better than one person being trapped alone."

Surprisingly, it was Maddy who spoke up. "We either do this together, or we don't do it at all." She glanced from face to face to look for responses.

She received nods from everyone in response.

"On three?" Levi asked.

"Fuck that." And Paige dove into the portal.

----

Paige found herself in grass, almost chest high. The transition had been instant, and other than a moment of disorientation, she felt nothing of the actual transportation.

Turning around to look, she found the portal she'd jumped through still hovering, but it showed the area she'd just came from.

Suddenly, something else popped through the portal, a crow.

"Are you bloody mad, miss?" The crow said.

"Hey, I didn't ask you to come," Paige answered.

"Well, I'm on shadow duty. That's my job. Wouldn't expect any of the others to come through, though."

Page took a good look around. The plains stretched all the way to the mountains.

Golden grasslands stretched in every direction. Turning, she noticed a herd roaming the fields opposite the mountains.

'Buffalo,' she thought with a smile. She had friends to meet.

Deciding she needed to wait for the group, she just watched as the buffalo grazed. They were magestic. There had to be over five hundred of them, peacefully grazing. She wondered if that was how the pioneers had felt the first time they'd seen Buffalo on their way across North America.

After a while of watching in wonder, she began to wonder where everyone else was. She was still alone other than the crow that perched on her shoulder.

"Hey, how long after I jumped in did it take you to follow me?" She asked the crow.

"Well, practically immediately, miss. Tis my job to anticipate your needs after all. I'd say a scarce second, and I was right behind you," the crow answered proudly.

"Where the fuck is everyone el--" Paige started to say before Maddy knocked her over.

Everyone else popped through the portal one by one immediately after, but they landed in different positions.

Maddy, though, was almost sitting on Paige's face.

Pushing Maddy off, Paige threw the first insult that came to mind. "Get your cooch off my face. Also, you need to wash that thing unless David is super into sourdough."

Maddy, to everyone's surprise, came back harder. "Yeah, sorry, I haven't washed since he was inside me this morning. Busy day. No surprise you couldn't tell the difference, though. How long has it been since you've gotten a piece."

Paige glared at Maddy for a second and then gave a single nod. "That was good. I'll give that one to you. Still... gross."

Maddy shrugged. "Don't talk shit about my 'cooch' and I won't talk shit about your sex life."

David stood agape, blushing, and clearly both horrified and embarrassed at the exchange.

"Paige! What the fuck." Levi stomped over. "You can't just Leeroy Jenkins shit."

"What? What took you guys so long? It took at least two or three minutes before you followed me through. What would have happened if I had jumped into some serious shit?" Paige argued.

"First off, we've already discussed the possibility of a time dilation. And we jumped in right after you, so I guess that theory was confirmed. Secondly, we were literally about to do a countdown and jump in together before you decided to give us the big middle finger and jump in on your own without any warning."

"Oh suck my dick, Levi... you think you're so smart, but you're just too afraid to actually make a move on things. You overthink things so much, you're paralyzed," Paige yelled at him.

"Is that what you think? Is that what you really think?" Levi said, stepping up to Paige.

Paige lifted her chin at Levi. "Yeah. It is. You worry over shit when you just need to be bold. Sometimes you just need to do what you want."

Levi snatched Paige by the waist and kissed her hard. She resisted for a second, so he kissed her harded. After a moment, she melted against him and kissed back.

He continued kissing her for a few seconds and then pushed her away, holding her at arm's length.

"Is that how you feel now?" Levi asked. Paige stared up at Levi, silent, but quickly shook her head.

"Good. Start listening. People care about you," Levi said.

Paige just nodded, still looking up at Levi.

Maddy leaned into David. "How do you feel about roleplay?"

"I get to be Paige, right?" David answered